12 Sugar And Gums Plants You Can Find In The Wilderness

Close-up of natural tree sap dripping from bark, showing how sugar and gums plants produce resin in the wilderness.

Long before refined sugar filled supermarket shelves, resourceful pioneers and Native Americans relied on sugar and gums plants found in the wilderness to satisfy their need for sweetness and energy. These natural sources of sugar were more than treats, they were vital survival foods that provided quick calories during long journeys or harsh winters. From the towering sugar pine to the sweet-sapped maple and the fragrant sweet gum, the wild offered many ways to sweeten tea, preserve food, or simply sustain energy on the trail.

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Foraging For Wild Edibles All Year Round

Foraging For Wild Edibles All Year Round

As the first long hunters and early settlers explored and tamed this country, they fit the very definition of the term, “hunter-gatherer.” Absent were cultivated crops or convenient trading posts at which a person could obtain needed supplies. These early settlers killed and foraged for just about all the food they consumed.

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6 Best Berries To Forage This Summer

6 Best Berries To Forage This Summer

In late summer and early autumn is the best time of the year to forage for some tasty berries.  The best berries listed in this article are easy to spot, often grow in quantity, and are easy to collect. Since these are the best berries you can get your hands on, expect a lot of competition.

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Survival Foraging and Community Gardens

Survival foraging in public parks

When survival foraging is on my “TO DO” list for the week, I often referred to, what I call a rule of fair foraging, “Reap where you did not sow, but only if it would otherwise go unused unless you take it?” And it’s amazing how much goes unused . . . especially in community gardens.

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The Thistle – A Great Source Of Food, Medicine And Raw Materials

The Thistle - A Great Source Of Food, Medicine And Raw MaterialsThe thistle has a bad reputation, almost everyone is familiar with it and its prickles, a number one characteristic. Livestock owners hate it because very few domesticated animals will feed upon the plant. Thistles are despised herbs, regarded as a noxious weed by farmers. However, the way I see it, the thistle is a wonderful plant with many useful treats for preppers and homesteaders.

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